The times., 1887-02-18


Col Roger w. Hanson, of the Second Com
federate Kentucky, led the advance. But
when they reached the right it WIS too late.
The Federal forces were already in possession.
Hanson was n brave and accomplished Con-
fcderato officer lt is interesting to know
that he and Ducl;ner, both fighting men,
deemed the surrender of Fort Donelson o
necessity after that. Hanson says in his re-
port:
IL viii take the liberty to add that uD to tho
timo when we were ordered back to the
trenches our success was complete and our
escape secure.
ut is also r1y opinion that the exhaustion
of the men from labor and loss Of sleep, to-
gether with the decentralization caused by the
loss OF our trenches on the right, rendered
the surrender unavoidable"
Whennight closed.in Wallace too had done
his work-regained the lost ground and
cleared tho hill. just when that was done,
and he was within few hundred feet of the
Confederate Eltrenchments, he received an
order from Grant to halt and fall back Wal
lace disobeyed the order lie felt sure the
general did not know his movement had been
successful So he took bis own head for it,
and bivouacked on the field, just where he
was, close to the Confederates, ready in the
morning TO be up and at them. But when
morning came the suns first rays shone upon
q bugler, carrying white flag from Bucllner
TO Grant. Buckners message proposed the
appointment of commissioners to agree upon
terms OF capituaticn. Grants reply has be-
come historic:
HNo terms viii be granted except an uncon-
ditional and immediate surrender. propose
TO move Immediately upon your works" F"
Buckner wrote back: "The distribution OF
the forces under my command, incident to
an unexpected change of commanders, and
the overwhelming force under Your COM
mand, compel me, Notwithstanding tho brill
liant success of the Confederate arms yester-
day, to accept the ungenerous and unchival-
rous terms which you PROPOSE"
SO on that Sunday morning, Feb 10, 1862,
the Confederate forces surrendered to Grant,
and the story of Fort Donelson was told
Buckner had good reason to be in an I'M
pleasant frame of mind that morning. At
midnight the night before q council of war
was held between himself and Pillow and
Floyd. Bucliner told them his men could not
stand more than half an hours fighting.
Hunger, cold and exhaustion had done their
work at last. Besides, there was no moro
ammunition. If his men tried to escape
tbree-quarters of them must be lost TO save
tho other quarter. Surrender was the only
thing.
Floyd and Pillow said they would not sur
render, they would die first. Then Floyd
handed over the supreme command of the
fort to Pillow, who in turn transferred it to
Buclner, who surrendered the fort Pillow,
with some of his immediate personal COM
mand, crossed the river upon q scow and
made good his escape Two small steamers
from up the river came about daylight to the
landing. They took Floyd and some of his
men up the river. Forrest and his cavalry
escaped on horseback. The two steamers con-
tanned Confederate re-enforcemcnts.w who were
dumped out upon shore. Then Floyd's men
boarded the boats The conduct of himself
and Pillow was regarded as urisoldorlv, and
was made the subject OF q searching investi-
CATION from the Confederate government. In
an official letter to tho Confederate secretary
of war, Pillow thought that considering the
sacrifices he had made forthe Confederacy,
and "the largo and dependent family of
grown up ana unmarried daughters on his
hands, y he had been very shabbily treated.
OF the forces engaged in this great fight
there were of Confederetes, oil told, some
thing over 10,0C0; of Federals, $1,000 Tho
best estimate of the Confederate Killed and
wounded makes them about 5000 OF tho
Union forces the killed, wounded and missing
aggregated $500.
The troops OF Grants nrmy at DOnclson
were mostly western men, many OF them
from Illinois and Indiana. One remarkable
fact in this fight is tho number of men who
afterwerd became distinguished that took
part in IL. Hundreds OF men afterward
famous both in military and civil life fought
there on those fateful days.